Part of Wabash River bank falls in Illinois town

Over the weekend, part of the bank fell into the river, and it was a piece big enough that it looked like a sinkhole opened up.

Posted: Feb 4, 2019 5:54 PM

Updated: Feb 4, 2019 6:27 PM

Posted By: Chris Piper

HUTSONVILLE, Ill. (WTHI) – the small town of Hutsonville sits right on the banks of the Wabash River.

Being that close to the river, some of the residents have dealt with flooding before.

Over the weekend, part of the bank fell into the river, and it was a piece big enough that it looked like a sinkhole opened up.

News 10 talked to various people.

While resident Steve Hemholtz said he was “freaking out because of people’s safety”, Cody Mendenhall of the park district said it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.”

“That, and the river stage. We’ll have to keep an eye on all that. Ya know it’s part of being on the river. I mean we will have river erosion, we have it right here with the current too, so we’re just gonna have to deal with it.”

Mendenhall says they are looking into ways to fix it, both for the short term and long term.

But for now, while it may be something you want to go look at, it’s best to stay behind the barricades and tape that are put up...for the safety of you, and others around you.